As fate would have it, Katy Perry (above, with fans) and Lady Gaga have both released brand new songs this week. So which top pop diva has the better track? Associated Press photo by John Shearer. | Aug. 14, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

Like Carly Rae Jepsen and Robin Thicke, the Revomatics' sound is strongly affiliated with summer. But in the Revomatics' case, it's the sound of summer from 50 years ago.

"Surf music is the punk rock of the early 1960s," said bassist Peter Flessas of the local surf-rock band. "It was dynamic music, but it was all instrumental, and you didn't have to have a big budget. It enabled young musicians to get their music out there." | Aug. 14, 2013»Read Full Article(2)

The initiatives' four films, "The Abolitionists," "Freedom Riders," "The Loving Story" and "Slavery by Another Name" will screen Sept. 5, 17, Oct. 10 and 22, respectively, with a presiding moderator to facilitate conversations about changing meanings of freedom and equality in the U.S., the news release said. | Aug. 14, 2013»Read Full Article

Friday through Sunday, fans of "The Big Lebowski" will descend on Milwaukee in pursuit of White Russians and marmots. The film by Joel and Ethan Coen stars Jeff Bridges as The Dude, a slacker caught up in a case of a mistaken identity. The Dude, Bridges says in the film, abides, a.k.a. survives. | Aug. 14, 2013»Read Full Article

The event was open to the public but came at a price - no attendees could play or pet the cats. The animals are judged against predetermined breed standards and grooming and many hold international titles. | Aug. 14, 2013»Read Full Article

People do not give works of art to museums. Donors of great works of art give their treasurers to the cities they love, to the school children on yellow buses, the couples on dates, the artists and would-be artists, the seniors on a Sunday afternoon.

In a very real sense, the art in our museums belongs to us. It is a public trust. This simple truth is at the core of a foundational ethic within the museum world that prohibits museums from selling works of art to pay off debts. | Aug. 14, 2013»Read Full Blog Post(4)

Well, our web site may still read "Forentine at Alterra," but tonight you can take in some live opera and -- say it with me, now -- Co-lect-ivo coffee. Alter... um.... Colectivo on the Lake is hosting a free event with the Florentine Opera. Pull up a patch of patio, a lake view and enjoy some musical theater on a summer evening. The event includes a musical preview of the Florentine's upcoming season.